HOMEMADE PIE CRUST

This recipe comes from my dear friend, Melanie Reardon. This pie-crust was developed over three generations of her family, so you know it’s the real deal! I was pretty convinced this was not going to be worth it because I am not a great baker and almost everyone complains about homemade pie crust and what a pain in the ass it is.[peekaboo_content]

Surprisingly, however, it’s not that hard IF you follow instructions closely and just trust the process. For example, DON’T overwork your dough (it’s a pie, not a cake). DON’T USE all the iced vinegar water (I sped read the instructions the first time I made this recipe and just dumped in all the water and my pie -crust turned into a big sloppy, sad mess.) Once the dough comes together, if it is sticking to your hands, add a very little bit of flour at a time until it is not sticky anymore and you can easily shape the disks. When you put your pie-crust in your pie pan, allow some extra dough to fall over the edges because the pie dough will shrink a tiny bit as it bakes.

When I took my first pie dough out of the oven and it was golden and delicious, I thought to myself “Well clearly I am a pie master, I am going to look up pie-crust decorative ideas!” That led me to Martha Stewart’s site, which then proceeded to completely erode my newfound pie confidence. So, my final nugget of advice with this is to celebrate the fact that you made an amazing pie crust from scratch and don’t get overdly ambitious with decorative elements until you practice a bit (I have made this pie crust 6 times now and decorative skillz still escape me).[/peekaboo_content] [peekaboo]Content [/peekaboo]

Recipe

HOMEMADE PIE CRUST

CRUST

2.5 CUPS – ALL PURPOSE FLOUR

1 TEASPOON – KOSHER SALT

1 TABLESPOON – GRANULATED SUGAR

1 STICK BUTTER – VERY COLD, CUT INTO SMALL CUBES

1/2 CUP – CRISCO OR VEGETABLE SHORTENING

1 CUP – ICE COLD WATER (WITH A FEW ICE CUBES IN IT)

4 TABLESPOONS – CIDER VINEGAR

EGG WASH (EGG + A LITTLE MILK/CREAM) FOR TOP OF CRUST

1. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk gently to blend.

2. Add the cut up butter and shortening IN SMALL AMOUNTS to dry ingredients. Cut with or two forks until pea-sized clumps start to form.

Fight the urge to overwork the dough!

Combine the ice water, vinegar and a few ice cubes in a separate bowl.

Add JUST 2 TABLESPOONS AT A TIME to the dough mixture until it starts to come together but it still “shaggy”

You will not use all of the liquid! Usually just about 6 Tablespoons or so…

When the dough is ready, shape into two even discs with your hands. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 1 hour (can be chilled up to 24 hours).

Once dough has chilled, roll out one crust on a lightly floured surface, transfer to pie plate, poke bottom of crust a few times with a fork, and fill.

Let the pie-crust come over the lip of your pie plate a tiny bit because it will shrink a bit when it bakes.

The second disk can be used for another pie OR you can roll out the top crust on a floured surface, transfer to pie plate, and cut vents in top crust.

Brush the edges of the crust or the top of the pie with egg wash (beaten egg with a little milk or cream).

If desired sprinkle top of crust with sugar and a pinch of kosher salt.

Place plate on a cookie sheet to catch overflow in oven. Bake at 375F for 45 minutes and then 350F until it is golden on the top (20-30 mins).

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About Elettra

Elettra Wiedemann is the founder of Impatient Foodie, a food site that navigates her desire to marry Slow Food ideals with the realities of fast paced, urban life. Within just a few months of launch in summer of 2014, Impatient Foodie was featured in numerous publications including Vogue, The New York Post, The Daily Mail (UK) Elle US, Elle China, Yahoo Food, Yahoo News, Madame Figaro, and Racked, ManRepeller, and Food & Wine Magazine.